It all started when Denzel went on a delivery with Cloud to the Chocobo Ranch. As Cloud talked to the ranch owner about something, Denzel had wondered over to the barn. He spend a while talking and patting the different Chocobos in the stalls until he noticed the far stall was empty. Curious, he went to investigate.
Stopping at the stall gate, he heard a strange, scuffling noise. Even more curious now, he slowly opened the stall door. He had just enough time to take in a small dark shape before he was knocked to the ground. Opening his eyes he saw a small black haired puppy standing on his chest.
The two stared at each other for a while before the puppy started to lick Denzel's face. Giggling, Denzel tried to fend the puppy off but the puppy retaliated by grabbing his jacket sleave in its mouth and pulling. This resulted in a game of tug-of-war between the two before Denzel finally won. The puppy sat and watched Denzel before launching itself at his chest. The two rolled around the stall wresting and playing.
"Denzel!" both froze at the sound of Cloud's voice, "Come on we've got to go!"
Denzel and the puppy looked at each, they were friends now and friends stick together.
"Come on," Denzel gestured to the pup to follow him, "let's go ask Cloud if you can come home with us" The two raced out to where Cloud was waiting for them.
Cloud watched Denzel and the pup race towards him, knowing full well what was coming next.
"Look Cloud, isn't he cool' Denzel said breathlessly, "can I have him please?"
"I don't know, Denzel" Cloud said gently, he didn't want to hurt the kid's feelings, "puppies are a lot of work"
"I'll take good care of him" Denzel pleaded as he picked the puppy up to show Cloud, "pretty please?"
The puppy licked at Cloud's face as he signed, "ok, ok, you can keep him"
"Yay" Denzel cried happily, noticing Denzel happiness the pup began to make happy noise too.
As Cloud watched the two celebrate a thought dawn on him, Tifa might not be to please about this.
'Oh well,' Cloud thought to himself with a shrug, 'at least Denzel's happy'
Soon it was time to leave and a new problem presented itself. How were they going to get the puppy home? Denzel couldn't hold it because he had to hold on to Cloud and Cloud couldn't hold because he had to steer. Soon a solution was reached in the form of one of Fenrir's saddlebags; the pup was placed in the bag and tied up with a little hole so it could stick its head out.
After a short uneventful ride, they finally reached the bar. As Cloud parked Fenrir in the garage, Marlene run out to greet them.
"Marlene, guess what I found?" Denzel asked her excitedly as Cloud started to get the puppy out.
"What?" Marlene asked curiously trying to see around Denzel and Cloud.
As Cloud opened the bag, the pup popped its head out and looked over at Marlene. Marlene let out squeal of delight and the pup barked happily in response. Cloud let it down on the ground and watched as the two kids showered it with praise and affection. He smiled, it was nice to see them happy and laughing after all that had happened in the last few months.
Standing, Cloud walked over to the door that joined the garage to the bar, "you three stay here, I've got to talk to Tifa, ok?"
"Ok, Cloud" both children giggled.
Tifa continued to stir the stir-fry she was cooking for dinner that night before she paused, shouldn't Cloud, Denzel and Marlene be piling into the kitchen right now, to wait for dinner. She shrugged the kids were probably helping Cloud unload and load some of the packages and pastels that he had to deliver tomorrow. She went back to cooking.
A little while later, she felt strong arms wrapped around her waist and warms lips touched the back of her neck, she sighed, "welcome home, Cloud"
"Hi" he rested his head on her shoulder, "that smells goods" he kissed her cheek gently, "as do you"
Tifa turned in his arms, wrapped her arms around his waist and looked into his eyes, "okay, what happened? What did you do?"
"What?" Cloud tried to look innocent, "What makes you think that I did something?"
Tifa just gave him a disbelieving glare, "really?"
Cloud frowned slightly as Tifa smiled back at him, "I can read you like a book"
Cloud sighed, "Ok, me and Denz were at the Chocobo ranch," he paused "and, well, to make a long story short, I might have let him adopted a puppy." Tifa just stared at him.
"What?" he frowned at her, he thought she might be mad or something, not shocked.
"Nothing, I'm just trying to process that you let Denzel take a puppy, a puppy, on Fenrir,"
It was Cloud's turn to glare, "I'm not that over-protective of it"
Tifa just raised an eyebrow at him before she let out a weary sigh, "that go have a look at this puppy of you and Denzel's"
Cloud meekly followed Tifa out the door into the garage where the kids and the puppy were playing tug-of-war with a piece of old rope. Cloud stood in the door way watching while Tifa went over to them. The game topped as the pup watched Tifa approach, tail wagging madly. As she knelt down, it launched itself at her, bathing her face in a rain of frantic licking. Tifa giggled and patted it in an attempt to calm it down. Denzel and Marlene ran over to Tifa.
"Can we keep him please, Tifa" Marlene begged
"We'll take good care of him" promised Denzel, "we'll walk him and play with him and bath him and…"
Tifa laughed "ok, ok, you convince me"
"YAY!"
Tifa looked over at them, "but he needs a name, so think carefully over dinner, alright"
Both children thought carefully about it during dinner and spent the next half hour in the backyard trying out all the different names they had thought of but none of them seemed to fit or work. Soon Tifa was trying to find a name too but didn't come up with any better suggestions.
For most of it Cloud had remained out of it, except for commenting on or suggesting different names. He had sat on the back steps watching the children and Tifa try all the names out. It was until the puppy came over to him and started pulling on the bottom of his pants when he actually joined the discussion.
Cloud grabbed an old rag off the pile of rubbish near the back door and turned the pup's attention on it, "you know, you remind me of someone I used to know"
The pup stopped pulling on the rag and cocked its head as it looked at Cloud. Denzel and Marlene ran over to sit next to him.
"What was their name?" Marlene asked
"Zack"
Tifa giggled, "Ahhh, yes, Zack Fair" she looked over at Cloud, "it would be a fitting name"
Cloud smiled, "yeah it would"
"Maybe we can call the puppy that?" Marlene piped up, Denzel agreed and they both tried to get the puppy to come to the name. But the puppy still refused to come. The children looked to Cloud again for an idea. Cloud just shrugged. Tifa came to sit on the step as well.
"Cloud," at the mention of his name he turned to look at Tifa, "what was it you were calling Zack that time you came to the village?"
Cloud thought for a while, "Flash, why?"
"I've always wondered why, that's all"
Cloud leaned back, "we called him Flash because one day Reno challenged him to a race though all 60 floors of the ShinRa building. We were all pretty sure the Turk was gonna win 'cause Reno was fast and knew the building better than Zack" Cloud paused and smiled, "but just before the race Kunsel and me gave Zack a couple cans of Redbull to drink. And let's just say that no one ever broke Zack record after that"
"Maybe that can be his name?" Marlene piped up, "you should try calling him, Cloud"
"Flash, come here" Cloud called, the pup ran at him and leapt into his lap, bathing his face. Cloud laughed and patted it, calming it. Tifa walked over and stroked its head gently.
"Guess its new name's Flash" she remarked.
Soon both the kids and the puppy, now Flash, were all played out. Tifa took the kids upstairs to get ready for bed while Cloud tried to figure out where Flash could sleep. The best he could come up with was a small cardboard box with some old blankets in the corner of the kitchen. While he was settling Flash in the box, he heard small footsteps on the stairs, turning he saw Denzel and Marlene standing in the doorway.
"Could Flash sleep in our room?" Denzel asked softly.
Cloud paused, "if Tifa says it's okay"
With that Marlene quickly darted up the stairs while Denzel walked into the kitchen to sit with Cloud and play with the pup.
A moment later, Marlene came down the stairs to declare that the pup can sleep in her and Denzel's room. At that, Cloud gathered the box with pup inside and climbed the stairs to the kids' room. He placed the box in between the two beds against the wall.
"Ok, time for bed" announced Tifa as she entered the room to tuck the children into bed. Both children scrambled into bed and under the covers. After hugs and kisses goodnight, the adults left the room leaving the door slightly ajar.
Once in their bedroom, Tifa turned to Cloud, curled her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him. When they broke apart Tifa said quietly, "You know, we could have called it Zack"
Cloud smiled softly at her, "yeah I know but I think we have a much more important use for that name coming up soon, don't you think?" as he said it he gently placed a hand over her stomach.
Tifa smiled back at him, "what makes you think it's gonna be a boy?"
Cloud pulled her down on the bed with him and rolled so he was on top. Leaning down he whispered quietly against her lips, "Somehow I just know"